When you look at the heart, you’ll see that it is broad. It can refer to a person’s total personality, the seat of intellectual capacity, or the mind. The heart and the mind are sometimes used interchangeably.
You can say it’s the mind of personality or the seat of the will. When God created Adam, He made him in His own image and likeness, so Adam was able to think as God does, understand as God understands, and act as God acts. That’s why we see that he was able to name all the animals without God interfering, because he was made in the image and likeness of God.
When Adam sinned, the Bible tells us that they would die, not fall and die physically, but be separated from God. When you really look at death, nobody dies. The moment a person is born into this world, that person can never die. It’s just closing our eyes here and entering into the spirit realm. Death is separation, so the person who has just been separated from us doesn’t mean they no longer exist.
The choice they made on this side of eternity will determine where they go after they leave this world. So, for anyone who doesn’t accept the sacrifice of Jesus, that person will experience death, eternal separation from Jesus. They will not reign with Him in heaven but face eternal damnation. Nobody dies; you just close your eyes here and open them somewhere else, depending on how you lived here.
So, God wants to give us another chance while we are still here. Maybe your heart is full of darkness; today is an opportunity to reconcile with Jesus, because renewal of the heart cannot start until a person is born again.
Adam and Eve sinned and were separated. The Bible says they had a foolish heart. God has made it clear that anyone who refuses to be reconciled with Him has no excuse because God has revealed Himself through creation (Romans 1:18-20). You may say you know people who are not Christians but love their families and don’t smoke, but God is telling us that it’s not just about loving our family, we were created to live for His purpose.
Anyone who’s not living in line with the purpose of God, no matter how good you think they are, is not good in the eyes of God (Revelation 4:11). You exist for the will of God, not just for your family. As good as that is, it’s not the purpose of creation. Your first and primary calling in life is to be reconciled with Jesus. Anyone who’s not reconciled with God is a fool (Ephesians 5:8).
We don’t determine what is right or wrong; it’s not up to us (Romans 1:22–26). The heart can become darkened, filled with lust, or hardened (Romans 2:5), so hard that nothing can penetrate.
If there’s anything you don’t submit to, it must not be the Word of God, because you must submit to the Word. The moment you start giving excuses for bad behaviour, you are in deception.
Characteristics of the Old Heart
- A person’s heart can be callous (Ephesians 4:18; Romans 2:5). Our heart is who we are — we can pretend to everyone else but not to God.
- The heart can be blinded (Ephesians 4:18).
- The natural heart is evil (Jeremiah 17:9). God gave us the kind of heart we have so we can do things like Him, but Adam and Eve’s sin caused separation.
How Do I Renew My Heart?
- You have to be born again.
Not the kind where you claim to be born again but still act as you want. People are blatantly sinning. You have to reconcile with God; you must settle it within yourself that you need salvation. For those who die in sin, hell is their destination, but for those who die in Christ, it’s paradise. - You have to be a student of the Word of God (Psalm 119:11).
The Word of God is your university. You can only grow in knowledge as you read the Word. You can’t become what God wants you to be if you don’t give yourself to the Word (Mark 7:15, 18–23). We must all renew our minds, the centre of decision-making. If we don’t give our hearts to the Word, they will be darkened. - We subdue our flesh.